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The very best time to see the core of our sensational home galaxy, the Milky Wayis quick approaching.
Wherever you are on the world, if you can escape light contamination and face south with no synthetic lights to ruin the view, among the most incredible sights in stargazing is all yours.
The Milky Way is noticeable in May from the Northern Hemisphere, it’s just in June that the stellar center appears. About 26,000 light-years from the planetary system, it lies around the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius, which are both now noticeable in the south after dark.
“This is the time of year when the Milky Way is visible as a faint band of hazy light arching across the sky all night,” states Preston Dyches at NASA in the June 2025 installation of his regular monthly vlog, What’s Up “What you’re looking at is the bright central core of our home galaxy, seen edge-on from our position within the galaxy’s disk.”
Discovering the Milky Way is simple. Aim to the east after dark, and you’ll see 3 brilliant stars increasing– Vega in the constellation Lyra, and Deneb in Cygnus, at the top, and Altair in Aquila listed below them. This is the large Summertime Trianglean asterism (shape) in the night sky instead of a main constellation.
As seen from the Northern Hemisphere, the fainter top of the Milky Way puts through the Summer Triangle, particularly from Deneb through Altair. Follow it diagonally throughout from east to south, and short on the southern horizon will be the Milky Way’s intense core.
Related: 2 sensational combinations will illuminate the night sky this month. Here’s how to see Mars and Mercury ‘kiss’ the moon
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The further south you are, the more of the brilliant core you’ll see and the darker the sky will be at this time of year. Around the solstice on June 20 to 21, nights in the Northern Hemisphere will be at their fastest, with consistent golden and no huge darkness at latitudes north of about 49 degrees north, according to EarthSkyCloser to the equator is much better, therefore is throughout the Southern Hemisphere, where nights are at their longest throughout June.
The Milky Way will get brighter and greater in a darker sky in July, August and September. Whenever you see it, attempt taking a long direct exposure image, which you can attempt either with among the best cams for astrophotography or with a more recent mobile phone. A tripod will be needed for an excellent image due to the fact that the shutter will require to be open for about 10 to 25 seconds.
Jamie Carter is an independent reporter and routine Live Science factor based in Cardiff, U.K. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie routinely composes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife publication and Scientific American, and lots of others. He modifies WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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